All posts tagged "Mobile"

Norwegian internet company Opera isn't quite as well known in the desktop browser space, at least in terms of usage figures. Globally, Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox and Microsoft's Internet Explorer still command the lion's share of users' internet tabs.
When it comes to mobile browsers though, the firm has historically had a huge following in Africa.
The company this week published its State of Mobile Web Report for Africa 2016, and with it, a slew of insights into Africa's voracious mobile device and web usage using its software and services as a lens. So, what are some of the key takeaways?
More...

Lenovo has reportedly laid off "hundreds of employees" working at Motorola, apparently leaving less than 50% of the workforce remaining.
One source told Droid-Life that over 700 employees out of 1200 will be laid off, while another claimed that Lenovo was moving more operations to China.
The Chinese tech firm confirmed the news in a press statement, saying it was part of "ongoing strategic integration" between the two.
Lenovo said the Motorola layoffs were part of plans to "streamline its portfolio" of products
"Lenovo today announced a resource action impacting less than 2% of its approximately 55 000 employees globally. The majority of the positions being eliminated...

South African loyalty shopping app SNAPnSAVE today announced that it has reached a new cash-back milestone of R1-million given to shoppers subscribed to its service.
Users get cash back on items by scanning their till slip from selected retailers and uploading it with the SNAPnSAVE app. Shoppers then accrue a percentage of the till slips' value in return via a wiCode, which can be redeemed at 13 partner retailers.
SNAPnSAVE: this new SA app lets you earn cash by scanning your till slip
This is interesting. It's a new South African app called SNAPnSAVE and it allows you to earn cash by scanning your...

The Wireless Application Services Providers' Association (WASPA) has called on the government to stop charging import duties on smartphones, saying that they aren't a luxury.
The association said that mobile use needs to be encouraged, because of the relationship between mobile data usage and GDP growth.
It cited a GSMA study, which found that doubling mobile data usage resulted in the GDP growing by 0.5%.
"Unfortunately, while cellphone handsets enable this GDP-boosting data usage, smartphones attract ad valorem duty, plus 14% VAT, when imported into the country," WASPA explained in a statement.
Read more: Telkom reveals FreeMe - six rather attractive mobile data plans
"WASPA...

Telkom Mobile has announced the launch of its FreeMe mobile plan, offering six tiers of pricing.
The pricing itself seems reasonable, but there are a number of surprising perks as well.
All plans include free SMS messages (limited to 50 per day), zero-rated WhatsApp/Viber/BBM calls (2GB fair usage policy) and free access to over 6000 WiFi hotspots. The two most expensive plans (20GB and unlimited data) also include free calls to any network - albeit limited to only 1500 and 3000 minutes respectively.
The other plans feature free on-network calls only, with a fair usage policy of 3000 minutes.
Interestingly enough, the plans...

Fresh off its spin-off of game developer Supercell, SoftBank Group (SBG) has announced plans to buy chip designer ARM Holdings for a gargantuan US$31-billion (R443-billion).
ARM is responsible for the chip designs used in a variety of smartphones, as its designs are licensed out to the likes of Samsung, MediaTek, Qualcomm, LG, Sony and a host of other companies.
In fact, Apple used to license out ARM's designs for its iPhones too, up until it launched a custom design for the iPhone 5.
SoftBank's acquisition is set to be an all-cash deal, buying ARM's shares at a premium of 43%. The deal...

We're starting to get a little Drowzee tired of Pokemon Go news in the office this week, as people go to ridiculous lengths to play the game and make non-stop posts.
Just how ridiculous can it get though? Well, Twitter users have done a good job capturing the world's obsession with the mobile title.
So this Just happened... #PokemonGO pic.twitter.com/PWZRxXHtcv
— Ismail Amen (@bigish41) July 14, 2016
The world in 2016 #PokemonGO pic.twitter.com/vEYMx0gpTA
— Geoff D. ⭐ (@Geoffdx) July 13, 2016
Pokémon Go user playing while driving successfully catches a tree https://t.co/iFnyuzeGhN pic.twitter.com/TbjhubdCWy
— Jalopnik (@Jalopnik) July 13, 2016
Ha! Just saw this over I-43 in Milwaukee. #PokemonGO...

Selling SIM cards isn't a new, brave business venture. Hell, your local corner shop probably sells spade-loads of them, and perhaps even allows you to RICA them as well. But moving this business entirely online is an interesting step that me&you mobile has undertaken.
The company, now just over a year old, believes that SIM-only contracts are the future for consumers. But how exactly does me&you describe itself?
"me&you mobile is a month-to-month, SIM-only mobile network offering the lowest call rates on the market," company brand manager Dean Ormsby explains.
Currently servicing around 15 000 customers, me&you buys voice and data from...

A new study by Nokia has revealed the main reasons for people choosing their current mobile network. Of course, price was the number one reason, but there are a number of interesting trends nonetheless.
Nokia's 2016 Acquisition and Retention Study polled over 20 000 users in 14 countries (including South Africa), covering both "mature" and "transition" markets.
Why are people on their current network?
The study unsurprisingly found pricing to be the main factor, with 45% of users choosing this as the number one reason for joining their carrier.
It was a tight race for second place, as best network coverage/quality (26%), best geographical network coverage...

Microsoft's mobile divisions are no stranger to upheaval. After all, the US company added Nokia's mobile unit to the stable several years ago and mobile saw plenty of layoffs last year.
Now, there's more big news as the Redmond company is spinning off the feature phone unit.
The US company has announced plans to sell the feature phone business to FIH Mobile, a subsidiary of manufacturing colossus Foxconn, and HMD Global for US$350-million.
The deal will also see Microsoft selling its Vietnamese manufacturing facility to Foxconn.
"Upon close of this deal, approximately 4500 employees will transfer to, or have the opportunity to join, FIH Mobile Ltd. or HMD Global,...

Nigeria's digital industry is getting very interesting. More social media campaigns are popping up and during the last elections digital ideas took centre stage. In September 2015 the number of mobile internet users on Nigeria’s telecoms networks clocked in at 97.21 million, according to the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC). This is huge, according to the GSMA this is the largest mobile market on the continent.
Nigerian digital agencies see this, they see the potential of an internet connected society and the are playing to that. In 2014, a cheeky little game pop up on the web call The Brideprice app....

Africa has earned itself many titles over the years and one of which is that it is the untapped market, with much potential. During 18th annual AfricaCom 2015, which is currently on its second day of the three-day conference in Cape Town, the continent has been branded with another title -- that of being the untapped telecommunications market.
Against a slowing subscriber growth around the world, Africa is showing a 47% market penetration and offers 500 million potential mobile subscribers.
“Africa’s telecoms sectors will continue to undergo huge transformation. While over the last decade this has largely been fuelled by a series of...

The chirpy blue bird has just acquired India's ZipDial, which is a popular mobile marketing and analytics platform for emerging markets. TechCrunch estimates the deal to be worth somewhere in between the US$30-million and US$40-million mark.
The deal also marks Twitter's foot in the door of India's booming (though unique) mobile market with the establishment of its new engineering offices in Bangalore. It's interesting witnessing the rising interest from major tech companies in high-growth markets such as India.
At the forefront of ZipDial's mobile marketing technology lies its unique relationship with missed calls. ZipDial enables people to give brands and businesses...

It looks like Mozilla is planning on bringing its Firefox web browser to iOS. If current mobile and browser stats are anything to go by, this would be a smart move if the fiery fox is to dig itself out of a hole in terms of gaining market share.
Firefox release manager Lukas Blakk said that “We need to be where our users are so we're going to get Firefox on iOS." According to TechCrunch, Blakk was quoting Mozilla’s VP for Firefox Jonathan Nightingale.
Mozilla Firefox is currently available on Windows, Mac, Linux, and Android. iPhone and iPad users are...

The MTN Group has revealed the launch of a mobile money cross-border payment service between Ivory Coast and Benin, positioning itself in the middle of the mobile money industry that has grown massively in Africa. The service, it says, has been introduced to enable the cheaper and easier movement of money in the West African region, potentially cutting miles that people have to walk to banks.
This service is not the first of its kind that MTN has initiated between two countries. Back in April, the mobile giant introduced a similar service between Ivory Coast and Burkina Faso. The success of...